Dumping groups append tags in parentheses and brackets to filenames, indicating the region, the revision, the quality of the dump or the nature of the file. Being able to read them saves you from keeping a corrupted version, or a hack when you wanted the original game.
These tags do not apply to arcade roms, which follow their own conventions — see Arcade in Recalbox.
Conventions differ between groups: No-Intro and Redump use full region names —
(Europe),(Japan),(USA, Europe)— while the older GoodTools sets use single letters. Both still coexist in many collections.
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
(1) |
Japan and Korea |
(4) |
USA and NTSC Brazil |
(A) |
Australia |
(As) |
Asia |
(B) |
Non-USA (Megadrive / Genesis) |
(Bra) |
Brazil |
(C) or (Ch) |
China |
(D) |
Netherlands |
(E) |
Europe |
(F) |
France |
(FC) |
French Canada |
(FN) |
Finland |
(G) |
Germany |
(GR) |
Greece |
(HK) |
Hong Kong |
(I) |
Italy |
(J) |
Japan |
(K) or (Kor) |
Korea |
(NL) |
Netherlands |
(No) |
Norway |
(R) |
Russia |
(S) |
Spain |
(SW) |
Sweden |
(U) |
USA |
(UK) |
United Kingdom |
(Unk) |
Unknown country |
Language codes follow the same logic: (Eng) English, (Fre) French, (Ger) German, (Ita) Italian, (Spa) Spanish, (Por) Portuguese, (Dut) Dutch, (Swe) Swedish, (Nor) Norwegian, (Fin) Finnish, (Pol) Polish, (Rus) Russian, (Gre) Greek, (Ser) Serbian.
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
[!] |
Verified good dump — the reference version, the one to keep |
[!p] |
Pending dump: the closest known copy, but not yet verified |
[a] |
Alternate version, usually fixing bugs |
[b] |
Bad dump — corrupted copy, avoid |
[c] |
Cracked version |
[f] |
Fixed version, tweaked to run better under emulation |
[h] |
Hack — from a simple cheat to a completely rewritten game |
[o] |
Overdump — larger than the original cartridge, harmless under emulation |
[p] |
Pirate version |
[t] |
Trained — a cheat menu opens on launch |
[T] |
Fan translation |
[T+] |
Recent translation, up to date with the rom |
[T-] |
Older translation, superseded by a newer one |
[x] |
Incorrect checksum |
[###] |
Checksum |
(Unl) |
Unlicensed — a game never officially released |
(ZZZ) or (ZZZ_UNK) |
Unclassified rom |
(-) |
Unknown year |
(M5), (M #) |
Multilingual, with the number of languages |
(?? k), (## MBit) |
Rom size |
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
(Bootleg) |
Pirate version of a game, sometimes altered (gameplay changes, protections removed). Some are better known than the originals in certain regions — Street Fighter II Rainbow, for instance |
(Taikenban) |
Trial version, playable demo |
(Genteiban), (Shokai Genteiban) |
Limited edition |
(Fukkokuban) |
Revised re-release of a game running on earlier hardware |
(Midway Classics) |
Game re-released by Midway after acquiring the rights |
| Tag | Meaning |
|---|---|
(REVXX) |
Revision number (00 is the oldest) |
(VX.X) |
Version number (1.0 is the oldest) |
(NG-Dump Known) |
No good dump known to date |
(?? - in-1) |
Pirate multi-game cartridge |
(Vol #) |
Official multi-game cartridge |
(Menu) |
Multi-cartridge menu, options not selectable |
[Alpha], [Beta], (Prototype), (Pre-version) |
Development builds |
(Kiosk Demo) |
Demo version for in-store kiosks |
(Hack) |
Modified rom |
(BIOS) |
Copy of the console's BIOS |
(Compilation) |
The file comes from a compilation |
(GCN) |
Rip from a GameCube release |
(N64DD) |
Nintendo 64DD rom |
[M] |
Monochrome game |
(PAL) / (NTSC) |
Display standard |
(19XX) / (20XX) |
Release year |
(old) |
Older version |
[hI] / [hIR] |
Dumping group intro added / removed |
[h # C] |
Pirate cartridge information |
(Ch-Trad) / (Ch-Simple) |
Pirate game in traditional / simplified Chinese |
[C] — Color;[S] — Super Game Boy;[BF] — bug fix, for modified physical cartridges.(BS) — Satellaview rom, broadcast by satellite in Japan, never released physically;(ST) — Sufami Turbo, a cartridge letting you play with two cartridges at once;(NP) — Nintendo Power, games distributed to Japanese magazine subscribers;(NSS) — arcade-flavoured SNES rom (Nintendo Super System).(PC10) — PlayChoice 10, the arcade version based on NES games;(VS) — VS. System, same idea but not playable solo;(PRG0) / (PRG1) — program revision;(Mapper ##) — mapper number;[hFFE] — copied with Far East copiers;[hMxx] — hacked to run on board xx;(Aladdin) — works with an Aladdin cartridge, which bypasses the 10NES lockout chip;(Sachen) — unlicensed game from publisher Sachen;(FDS Hack) — converted from the Family Computer Disk System;(E-GC) / (J-GC) — rom extracted from a European / Japanese GameCube compilation.(1) Japan, (4) USA, (5) NTSC only, (8) PAL only, (B) every machine except USA, (F) and (W) world;(J-Cart) — the original cartridge carries two extra controller ports;(SN) — Sega-Net game;(MP) — MegaPlay version;(MD Bundle) — rom taken from a Sega Mega Drive pack-in;(Alt Music) — alternate music version.[v] — Game Boy Advance Video;[eb], [eba], [ebb] — e-books;[hIR00], [hIRff] — intro removed, replaced by 00 or ff values;[f125], [f126], [f_?] — EEPROM patch removed;(IQue) — Chinese version for the iQue console;(MB) / (MB2GBA) — multiboot game, possibly converted;(-e) — e-Reader rom;(Pogoshell) — program for the Pogoshell tool;(PocketNES), (Goomba), (PCEAdvance), (SNESAdvance), (DrSMS)… indicate a rom from another system bundled with a GBA emulator.[M] — mono audio only.(SC-3000), (SG-1000), (SF-7000) — cartridge type;(GG2SMS) — Game Gear game running in Master System mode.(Atmos), (Telestrat) — target model.(Adam) — version for the Coleco Adam computer.